What is psychotherapy and what is it like?

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Basically, individual psychotherapy is one-on-one talk therapy. It is a process of exploration and discovery in which through open, candid communication with a professional therapist over the course of regular meetings, you can come to:

gain a deeper understanding of yourself
reduce emotional distress such as feelings of sadness, fear or anger
alleviate psychological symptoms (e.g., depression or anxiety) that interfere with your life or that cause you distress
build healthy ways of coping with difficulties and stressors
improve your self-esteem and self-confidence
develop improved communication skills and more satisfying and meaningful relationships
experience greater well-being within and greater personal control in your life
attain personal goals
ultimately live in a more effective and fulfilling manner
I believe that the foundation of psychotherapy lies in the warm and supportive relationship I build with a client; a relationship that allows my client to feel safe to explore what is troubling him or her. Psychotherapy can give you an opportunity to gain broader and deeper perspectives into your current life circumstances and the choices you’ve made throughout your life. This increased awareness and self-understanding can allow you to make more productive and healthier choices in the future.

When you come in, I will ask you about what brings you here, and if you aren’t sure, we can start with that. It’s okay to talk about whatever is on your mind. I am interested in hearing as much about your ‘story’ as you are able and willing to share. We will talk for about 45-75 minutes with the focus being your feelings and what has happened to bring you to this point. This will include your current situation, as well as your history. Before we wrap up our first appointment, we will take some time to get clarity on goals; that is, what you want to change or be different at the end of this process. I will give you feedback on the ways, and areas of specific focus, that I think will help us get you there. Then we will make a plan around when next, and maybe even how regularly, we will continue to meet.

Over time (in ongoing sessions), as you talk, I will ask questions and offer reflections to help you explore more deeply and make greater sense of your situation. In doing so, hopefully you will gain not only greater self understanding, but also skills to manage your difficulties more effectively and the means to achieve meaningful changes within yourself.